


Shades of Light

by EmeraldHeiress



Series: Shards of Kyber [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Child slavery, Dai Bendu, Dai Bendu (Star Wars), Don't copy to another site, Gen, Slavery, Tatooine Slave Culture, Tattoos, underage tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26221099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldHeiress/pseuds/EmeraldHeiress
Summary: He stepped forward, palms out to show peace, “We are Jedi. Please, come with us. We shall insure your freedom.”“Leave!” Someone hissed. “Before you kill us all!”Obi-Wan took a step back, surprised at the venom in the voice — thehaterejectionfeardirected at him.Or: Obi-Wan learns something new about his padawan.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Shards of Kyber [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847170
Comments: 20
Kudos: 627
Collections: New SW Canon Server Works





	Shades of Light

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Heart Language](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104063) by [aroacejoot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroacejoot/pseuds/aroacejoot), [ghostwriterofthemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostwriterofthemachine/pseuds/ghostwriterofthemachine), [loosingletters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters). 



Fear and sorrow laid thick in the room, heavy in the air and in the Force. It almost knocked Obi-Wan over with the power of it. But his padawan barely stumbled, mouth pulled in a grim line. 

At least a dozen beings flinched back from them. 

Slaves. 

_Kriff_.

Pressing his lips together, already knowing that Anakin was going to refuse to leave without them — knowing his own conscience wouldn’t allow it, either — Obi-Wan just sighed.

Anakin turned to him, mouth open but a wave of his master’s hand cut him off. 

“Alright, padawan, but we must hurry.” 

He stepped forward, palms out to show peace, “We are Jedi. Please, come with us. We shall insure your freedom.”

“Leave!” Someone hissed. “Before you kill us all!”

Obi-Wan took a step back, surprised at the venom in the voice — the _haterejectionfear_ directed at him.

“ _Jaieh_.” Anakin touched his arm. 

Eyebrows raised, Obi-Wan stepped aside. 

Moving forward slowly, the teenager slid off his outer robe, softly speaking in a language that he had always refused to translate. A moment later, the robe was wrapped around the shoulders of a thinly clothed youngling. 

If there was a single trait that Obi-Wan wouldn’t have attached to his young apprentice, it would have been social. Not that Anakin didn’t need human connection. If anything he craved it. ~~Always having to be near those he claimed as his. Always being in their space. Always chattering or begging for a story.~~ But he had always struggled with making friends and charming other sentients. 

Watching him easily slip among the slaves and integrate among them in moments made Obi-Wan wonder if there wasn’t a failing of his own in that. Something he could have — should have — done. 

While more at ease, they still wouldn’t go. 

Anakin shed another layer, handing the robe off to another child and bearing the intricate tattoos that laced up his arms to the room. Obi-Wan felt his lip twitch, trying to draw into a frown. 

The art was something of a point of contention. The teenager refused to talk about them. Refused to even _acknowledge_ them, save to accept whatever consequence his master handed out. Every few months, Obi-Wan would discover new ones, spread across his padawan’s skin, obtained Force knows when.

He never caught Anakin leaving the Temple but there was nowhere inside that he could get them.

~~It drove his master crazy.~~

The sudden hushed silence caught Obi-Wan’s attention. He refocused back on the group in front of him and blinked.

A female twi’lek reached out almost compulsively and brushed her fingers gently over the blue band weaved around Anakin’s bicep. 

Protection surged through Obi-Wan but Anakin sent a wave of reassurance through their bond. 

The girl looked up and murmured a word.

Anakin nodded.

It spread from mouth to mouth, relief and hope leaching into the Force.

Grasping all of their hands in turn, Anakin _glowed_. 

Something told Obi-Wan that they could make their escape now.

Hours later and finally in hyperspace, everyone — down to the smallest child — was piled in the small shuttle. The former slaves leaned against themselves, sitting together on the floor and drawing his padawan among them. Whispering in their tongue and gently exploring the bold lines on his skin. 

Obi-Wan had never seen his apprentice so docile… or so quietly confident. 

The more he watched, the more he began to understand that the designs of Anakin’s tattoos were _important_. They weren’t just decoration, they had real meaning. Not just to Anakin but to the slaves they had rescued. 

The words flowing from lips were jubilant but just as elusive as they had always been. Words Anakin had never shared with him. They rang in the Force with a meaning in a way that Obi-Wan suddenly knew that he could never understand. 

He turned back to instrument panels, checking their flight path and pulling out a datapad. Obi-Wan slowly began to compile the mission report for the near disaster they just escaped, mind tracing back the events of the day.

At least some good had come out of it, even if they didn’t manage their objective. 

Thinking about the quiet revelations he had had about his padawan so far and the few he could feel waiting for him, expectation hanging at the edge of the Force… eager for the next meditation session… More good than he could predict, he was sure. 

Something had changed. 

Sensing his uncertainty, Anakin tentatively reached out to him. The Jedi master sent back a wave of reassurance and warmth before refocusing on the datapad in front of him.

Whatever the future and the Force had in store, they would weather it together. Stronger in a greater understanding.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Jaieh_ \- Master in Dai Bendu - Conlang Created and expanded by [loosingletters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters) and [ghostwriterofthemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostwriterofthemachine/pseuds/ghostwriterofthemachine). Please check out their [Pragmatics of the Jedi](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885129), starting with [Heart Language](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104063/chapters/63496948) for more information.


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